STORIES
Here we are at the end of 2020 and on everyone’s mind is the pandemic and the lockdowns and the total change in our every day lives. Well, guess what, you’ve just had a missionary year! It wasn’t easy, was it? Now you have a better, more realistic view of why it is so hard to … read more
Dramatic Connections
read All StoryIn November, my husband J and I prayed that the Lord would give us connections with our focus people here in Hamilton. The next day we were driving back from Brantford and J noticed a burning car in the ditch between the two sides of the highway. He quickly pulled over into the ditch and ran over to see how he could help.
From a distance… read more
I had some rich times in the Word and in prayer during the required fourteen-day quarantine in a hotel in Phnom Penh. On the 13th day we packed our many suitcases. On the 15th we found out that three people from our quarantine group tested positive and… read more
The outside world around me continues to be extremely foreign and perplexing. Adapting to culture is as much what you don’t do as it is what you do do.
As a woman, protecting my honour means … read more
This is Like Heaven
Although there were a lot of those “Blessing” videos going round over lock down, the WEC Arts Release Arts Release team wanted to do something a bit more multi-lingual … read more
At first, we thought COVID would go away quickly and we buckled down to do renovations in the yellow house that God blessed us with in March. A perfect way to spend social distancing time. However, the renovations ended, but the social distancing continued. But we were itching to get the newly renovated “Joy Centre” in use… read more
I’m grateful for God’s protection and provision during these times when Spain had one of the strictest
lockdowns. We weren’t even allowed to leave the house to go for a walk. The balcony of my flat looks out onto the same little plaza as one of the YWAM bases in Spain. During the lockdown, they would do evangelistic presentations for the whole neighbourhood three times a week, singing from their balconies or sharing testimonies and some dramas. That was encouraging. It inspired me to record some worship songs for my church.
Reflections
Read AllSitting on a homemade swing on the rooftop, I could feel the hot Asian sun scorching my face, but I didn’t mind. I was enjoying every moment with my new friends. One of the daughters, around eight years old, insisted that we take turns pushing each other on the swing. Every time I came flying backward, I would nearly knock her small frame onto the ground, but she was determined! Neither of us could suppress our laughter as we continued to play together that afternoon! These moments of connection may seem small and insignificant at first. However,.. Read more
Fishing in Fiji
Read AllTwelve fishermen from Indonesia found themselves stranded in Fiji when the borders suddenly closed. These young men, hired by their company for a two-year venture, were enroute to join their fishing boat and crew somewhere in the South Pacific. Fiji was to be a few-hours stopover. Now they were stuck. All young men, most of them married with at least one child, were eager to make some money to send home to their families. Their first time in Fiji, they were desperate to get going. Their company seemed to take little note of their needs. Now what? Read more…
A Sweet Deal
Read AllNow that things are opening up a bit, I have been able to go out to the coast a couple of times and to my surprise I found hundreds of my target people hanging out there on the weekends. I was in shock to see so many. I have also ventured into the neighbourhood near my apartment where I know these people hang out and for the first time since last winter I spent the evening just talking with guys. They were so happy to talk and spend time with me and my friend. Two days later they called me again… Read more…
Virus cannot silence God's Word...
…it will burst out in one way or another to grab people’s attention.
Quote from a worker in the Middle East: “The pandemic is helping to spread the Gospel!” He went on to give praise to God that the leaders of the Church are using their church websites and social media to give answers from the Bible to fearful people searching for comfort and truth during this pandemic. There has been a significant increase…
From Russia: Via Zoom, I have started teaching…
France: During these six weeks in confinement, we can’t go further… read more
Travel in Congo
When countries threatened airport and border closures, the Canadian government urged its citizens to return to Canada without delay. We had workers who went for short term and some who only had short-term visas. The best option was to get home sooner rather than later – but it was easier said than done. Here are a couple of their action-packed stories.
Travel in Congo
For several months each year, Drs. Philip and Nancy Wood teach at and bring practical support to a Christian hospital and nursing college at Bunia, North East Congo. When they heard news that the Canadian government was urging its citizens to return home, Philip and Nancy prepared to leave earlier than planned. Their Congolese colleagues disapproved of them taking the closest overland routes to Uganda because of rebel uprisings in the area, so they… Read more
Taxi !
Our worker D tells her story:
I settled into the seat in the taxi and looked at my fellow passengers. Whew. They were all women. I had just gone through some intense haggling for a taxi where I thought that the taxi drivers were going to begin fighting. … Read more
In Hamilton, this message appeared outside my window right beside the busy sidewalk. Both
children and adults stopped to read it.
An Unstoppable Fire
Joe and Jane (not their real names) met at a funeral of a mutual friend a few days after Jane had become a Christian. She was 17 and Joe 18, both from Vancouver Island. The first day Jane attended church as a believer, Joe’s mother approached her and said, “You don’t know me but God just compelled me to tell you that He has great things planned for you.” God would later remind Jane’s mother-in-law of that little promise. …read more
My Cookies
In the summer of 2020, Mike and I will be moving to California to be closer to my parents.
This is a teachable moment from our time at the WEC home base. To communicate the full effect, I have to share an incident that happened before coming to Canada.
We had been attending my church in Sacramento for two years. Just before we left, Pastor Dan had told us how grateful he was because we never complained and attended all the meetings. He even had us come up to the front to thank us. We had to sort of chuckle between ourselves, because we knew the reason we were so easygoing – …read more
Imam Asks for Bible in South Asia
The imam I’ve been meeting with is as excited as ever to keep reading the Bible with me. This past month, he even invited another imam from a village down the road to join us. I’m learning a lot about how to tell a story and how to discuss the important parts in ways that connect with them. I need to get my hands on another one of these Bibles though, as the other imam has asked for one too! Keep praying that our mutual respect for one another would warm his heart into being receptive to Jesus as he sees Him in the Word.
Church Celebrates 45 Years in Indonesia
Walter and Melita Mohr, semi-retired workers that were in Indonesia and then on Canadian home staff, received warm greetings for Christmas from church leaders in Surabaya where they served from 1974 to 1978. The Church writes, “We begin this year with much blessing. On January 5, 2020 we celebrated 45 years since our church started. The church that began in a simple narrow car garage has now added a second floor. The Lord has blessed this ministry. Thank you for planting God’s truth; it has grown and become fruitful.”
Walter comments, …read more
A Glimpse of Life in North Africa
It’s been nearly three years since I moved to this country. If I were to describe this time I would say it’s had its ups and downs, highs and lows, and most definitely what seems to be its fair share of dead ends. It really depends on how you decide to measure it, so coming from my own perspective, allow me to just give you a sliver of… read more
First Fruits
Despite the fact that our new work in the Middle East consists of a great deal of texting, spreadsheets, and hours on buses, it’s actually been very exciting. We are responsible for… read more
A Banana Planter's Dilemma
Just before the worshippers arrived, a waning sun transformed the dull, beige walls of our village mosque to a fiery red. Having completed our English lesson on its portico, we received a customarily hearty “See you soon!” from our many students, and mounted our motorbike for the ride home. With bated breath the trembling pile of sticks termed a “bridge” was once again traversed; we waved as we passed over women and children washing in the stream below, busy with the various stages of work and play. We had barely arrived at our little concrete home when … Read more…
Snapshots
Middle East: We were so blessed to hang out today with such a crowd of self-sacrificing, hungry-for-Jesus, local young people. The highlight was getting onto the subway late tonight. God led me to move up two cars to get on, and find the young man right in front of us reading the New Testament. I have never seen this before. This is a town of 115 kms of subway and 30 million people. I said to the young man, “Jesus is alive and He arranged this meeting.” Pure joy.
Albania: At a summer camp with students aged 14 – 18, Julie Gibson tells us that nine children opened their hearts to Jesus. Seven children who made that decision last year were baptized. Several couples from the church followed a discipleship course at the same time. Now the second camp has started with students aged 18 – 30. This camp also offers a program for couples and families who don’t normally attend church. Julie will be running simultaneously a program for their children.
Middle East: We had a lively fun chat with a friendly guy but didn’t touch on anything deep or meaningful. On the way back to the hotel I was sad because chances are he has never met a believer before and he might not again. The next day, we were at the other end of the city and saw him sitting with a friend in a coffee shop! We sat down with him and the topic of faith quickly opened up. We shared with him why we believe in and follow Jesus. Seeing God move is amazing.
Canada: Shinar, a new worker preparing to leave for overseas service, experienced the privilege of cabin leading at a weeklong camp this summer, run for First Nations children in Northern Manitoba. There were around 40 children, the majority coming from difficult home situations. Shinar says “The highlight for me was just to be allowed to be a part of their lives, hear their stories and love them”. I am excited to see how Christ continues to be increasingly glorified among the Cree people.
Zimbabwe: Sipho and Amanda Moyo: “Two weekends ago we had a training camp at the farm for the short term missions’ candidates. We had 13 to begin with and have now dropped to 6. Some do not have documents yet to travel. Passports are no longer being issued due to no money for the paper needed.” By faith, these outreach trips for Zimbabwean youth, geared to motivate them for missions, will begin mid-July.
Focus on the Unreached
Originating from Berber tribes, the Moors inhabit the Sahara ranging from Western Mali, South-Western Algeria, Western Sahara, Mauritania, Southern Morocco to Northern Senegal. Moors are virtually all Sunni Muslim and part of the Malikite sect. They have adopted Arab culture and speak Hassaniyya Arabic. Being scattered over many countries, one cannot give exact numbers of people but over three million live in Mauritania alone. Only 0.1% are Christians. Pray for the Gospel to spread across the Sahara and for a spiritual awakening among these unreached people.
God is Always on Time
A few years ago, my passport and visa to return to Côte d’Ivoire had not come when I expected. Anxiety settled in. Although I had sent my passport in to the Côte d’Ivoire embassy in good time, by Friday there was still no sign of it and my flight.. read more
God is Able
Juan Arvelo in Spain shares with us what God did this year to take him to Dallas for a week-long intensive course.
“This term I am taking two subjects from the Master’s program in World Arts online: Theory and Practice of Ethnodoxology and Current Issues on Scripture Engagement. The first one had an intensive component on-campus that lasted for a week but I didn´t have the funds to go. Read more
In Search of a Green Tree
We have seen many new visitors coming to our church recently and many of them have shown evidence that the Lord is working in their lives. One example is a man who recently moved here from another country in the Middle East. He woke up one morning after having had a dream of a green tree… read more
"God Sent You to Me"
I continue to be involved in prison ministry with a large team of around twelve, four of us from the college. We join with a team of eight from Germany. This outreach is proving to be a great challenge and joy. God surprises us at each meeting by connecting each of us with precisely the right inmates with whom we can share… read more
Short Termer Dee Rescues Chickens
“It was the 2nd weekend in November and the temperature hovered around -5C. My team in Asia had been working on a chicken project for most of the year, with plans of teaching local men how to raise chickens and develop a sustainable egg-selling business. They were now prepared to receive 800 chickens as the first flock. I had asked if I could help out with it because I am very familiar with chickens, having grown up on a chicken farm in Canada. I wanted to see how this team project worked … Read more
A Perfect Day in Central Asia
Through connections from the farmer’s market where I play music with a local band, I had an amazing experience. My friend told me that one of the farmers who sells vegetables at his farm had asked him if I could come to his farm and pray for his friend, who was dealing with many curses from black magic. I told them that my prayers were not magic, but if the friend was willing for me to pray in the name of Jesus, then it wouldn’t be a problem. They agreed and took me out to a village on the outskirts of my city … Read more
Focus on the Unreached
The Uygur (pronounced weegur) are of Turkic ethnicity living mainly in East and Central Asia. Uygurs primarily practice Islam. Like most populations of Central Eurasia, they are closely related to both Europe’s and East Asian people.* Estimated world population is 12,068,600 with the majority living in Northwest China. Reaching the Uygur with the Gospel is not easy because in some countries they live in fear of being arrested and put into prison. Pray for open doors to reach the Uygur with the Gospel. According to the Joshua Project only 0.01% of Uygurs are Christian.
*Wikipedia
A Worker Shares His Call
About a year ago I saw a large group of men playing cricket in a park and decided to go over and ask where they were from. As I approached a group of men sitting under a tree I was gripped with fear and .. (continued…)
Focus on the Unreached
The Pashtun people mainly live in Pakistan and Afghanistan but a large number are also found in India. They speak Pashto. There are approximately 50 million worldwide and are the largest people group in Afghanistan and second largest in Pakistan. The majority of Pashtuns are Sunni Muslim. They are currently one of the largest unreached people groups in the world. Pray God will raise up more workers to share the Good News with Pashtuns.
Pashtuns Find Jesus
This year another worker felt God was asking her to reach out to the Pashtun people. She prayed He would guide her to a Pashtun family and started… (continued…)
Surprise Encounter
Hearing about a conference where Pashtun people were the focus for ministry, one of our young workers wanted to attend, although he had to drive twelve hours into the States to get there. He had spoken to a few Pashtuns in Canada, and wondered if God was leading him to join a team that reaches out to them. Stopping at a rest stop, 45 minutes before arriving… (continued)
Pray for Japan's Elderly
A high rate of suicide among the elderly in Japan is a known fact. These are lonely people without hope. The Post Office provides a service… (continued)
God Calls Africans into Missions
The country of Sao Tomé and Principe, two islands off the coast of Central Africa in the Gulf of Guinea, is not a place that most people in the West are familiar with. These uninhabited islands were .. read more…
Garlic and Goats
Sipho and Amanda Moyo oin Zimbabwe write:
“ACTS13 is growing and developing throughout Africa and here with us in Zimbabwe. We are working hard at developing our farm to be a hub of mission sending preparation and … read more
An Adult Missionary Kid in Canada Prepares for Full Time Service
“I’ve been meeting a large number of Afghans here, as well as other random people.”
“Every day I go out and wander, looking for people who are open to talk to me.
Read More…
Highlighting our MK’s – Missionary Kids
It’s been a while since we’ve mentioned our MKs. We’d like to highlight them in this issue for a few reasons.
Read More…
I Grew up in Mexico
Testimony by Christy Ann Dyck
I grew up in Mexico. My parents worked at a Christian camp (El Monte) with other missionaries. I had awesome Christian friends who supported me. I grew up believing in Jesus but it wasn’t very personal. I accepted Jesus when I was 10 but I struggled a lot with wanting to do more for Him.
Teresa shares Highlights of Her Life as a Missionary Kid
“It’s the feeling of having someone lift up your head from the pit of despair. It’s the presence of the One who will never leave you nor forsake you. It’s the knowledge that you can face the future.
Jesus Love Touches a Lame Man
A young worker and his friend in Central Asia ventured into an unreached part of the country. They report:
The first day we did a lot of walking. As we walked we asked the Lord to open a door for us to share in this city. We began conversations with quite a few people but no one showed an interest in talking with us. We would chat for a few minutes before they said they had to leave or get back to work. We went back to the hotel and decided to spend some time in prayer before getting to bed early. Tomorrow we would have an early start. As soon as my friend jumped into bed he jumped right back out,
Was it Really an Accident?
Jake, a former discipleship student, stayed on in the city after the course finished. We have seen him grow even more in his faith. He works as a barista at a popular café and shares his faith with the students who come. He also helps to mentor young people in our church. Jake stays at the Discipleship School property and organizes cleaning. His family remains… read more
Surprised and Affirmed by Flutes
A & A Janzen and family have spent the past year and a half in Toronto preparing to return to Brazil in 2018. They have had to overcome serious health issues while in Canada and at the same time give much time to study. A is completing… read more
God Turned My World Upside Down
The question is often asked of our missionaries, “How were you called into missions?” One of our newest workers, about to leave for North Africa, shares her story.
I was not born into a Christian home. Religion was a foreign thing in our high-achieving household, not looked upon in a positive light. Things were not looking good for me as a twelve year old, as I began walking down a destructive, sinful path pursuing the world and its revelry….
Finding the True Comforter
The story of a woman in Central Asia who found Christ in the middle of a crisis
God has sent missionaries to Central Asia to pray, sow seeds of Truth, engage in spiritual warfare, and spread hope to those living under the clouds of Communism and Islam. You may wonder, how does someone come to the point of putting their faith in Jesus? Romans 10:17 tells us, “Faith comes from hearing the message and the message is heard through the word about Christ.”
Meet our workers
We have workers in many countries. over 90 in fact. Some we can openly introduce to you and others are in nations where their identities can be compromised. Therefore, for some, we are only using initials or first names.
God Affirms Jason's Call
Things finally came together. For three years, Jason had dreamed of going to a country in the Middle East where God had called him. Because of numerous food allergies and a restricted diet, doubts arose in his thoughts: “How will I ever find the food I need to live there?” Amazingly, God opened the door for a three-month trip to his dream country to show Jason that He could keep him and use him there.
God did above and beyond what Jason expected.
Touched by Worship
But the hour is coming and now is, when the true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him” John 4:23, 24
The above passage has taken on fresh and exciting meaning to me through some unexpected experiences over the past months.
Gathered together with some friends one morning during prayer a certain nearby shop owner came to my mind. I had visited him a number of times but quite some time had passed since I last saw him.
When Being Counter-Cultural Works
Men witness to men and women witness to women.” These are the words of a wise instructor of cross-cultural missions. Especially in conservative societies such as where we work and live. I had heard this many times and even echoed these same words to others. In societies where the divides between men and women are strong, communication between the sexes needs to be careful and cultural boundaries respected.
I first met Tina while exploring our new neighbourhood. We were trying to get the lay of the land and we ventured out as a family to practice ‘culinary evangelism’. Namely, explore the various foods your new neighbourhood offers and meet and talk to as many people as you can. Tina ran a store serving basic breakfast and lunch menus specializing in milk/yogurt/cheese products.